Loebner prize

Loebner prize

The Loebner Prize is an annual competition that awards prizes to the Chatterbot considered by the judges to be the most humanlike of those entered. The format of the competition is that of a standard Turing test. In the Loebner Prize, as in a Turing test, a human judge is faced with two computer screens. One is under the control of a computer, the other is under the control of a human. The judge poses questions to the two screens and receives answers. Based upon the answers, the judge must decide which screen is controlled by the human and which is controlled by the computer program.

Within the field of artificial intelligence, the Loebner Prize is somewhat controversial; the most prominent critic, Marvin Minsky, has called it a publicity stunt that does not help the field along.

Prizes

The prizes for each year include:

$2,000 for the most human-seeming of all chatterbots for that year - awarded every year. In 2005, the prize was increased to $3,000, and the prize was $2,250 in 2006. In 2008 the prize will be $3000.00

$25,000 for the first chatterbot that judges cannot distinguish from a real human in a text-only Turing test, and that can convince judges that the other (human) entity they are talking to simultaneously is a computer. (to be awarded once only)

$100,000 to the first chatterbot that judges cannot distinguish from a real human in a Turing test that includes deciphering and understanding text, visual, and auditory input. (to be awarded once only)

The Loebner Prize dissolves once the $100,000 prize is won.

2008 Loebner Prize

The 2008 Competition is to be held on Sunday 12 October in University of Reading, UK. The event, which is being co-directed by Kevin Warwick, will include a direct challenge on the Turing test as originally proposed by Alan Turing. The first place winner will receive $3000.00 and a bronze medal.